The American Labor Party provided the necessary votes to overcome the Republican lead over the Democrats. By 1944 the Communists had taken over the American Labor Party completely. In the election of 1944, Republican Presidential nominee Thomas E. Dewey got nearly half a million votes more on the Republican ticket than Roosevelt got on the Democratic ticket,[2][3] but Roosevelt was the candidate of two other parties - the American Labor Party of the Communists [4] and the Liberal Party which consisted of technocrats, economic planners and American non-Stalinist Communists.[5] In New York State Roosevelt won 47 electoral votes with a majority of 317,000. [6] Of these 825,000 votes came from the American Labor Party dominated by the Communists, which had also nominated FDR and he had accepted, and the American Liberal Party. The same thing was true in Illinois, in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and other large industrial states, although the fact was not so obvious because the radicals operated inside the Democratic party where they could not be so easily identified. Strom Thurmond also supported FDR's decision to seek a fourth term. [7]

Contents

Democratic Party Nomination

Vice-President

At the 1944 Democratic National Convention in Chicago DNC Chairman Bob Hannegan had gone for instructions to President Roosevelt's private railway car just before the July convention officially began. Roosevelt had decided to dump incumbent Vice-President Henry Wallace. Roosevelt, who was in ill-health, could not make the selection of Harry S. Truman as his successor until Sidney Hillman[8], Director of the Political Action Committee for the Congress on Industrial Organizations (CIO) approved it. [9] Worried over dissension, Roosevelt told Hannegan: "Go on down there and nominate Truman before there's any more trouble. And clear everything with Sidney." [10]

General election

On January 11, Soviet CPSU General Secretary Josef Stalin announced the incorporation of the eastern half of Poland into the Ribbentrop-Molotov line (now rechristened the Curzon line). The Polish, Baltic and Balkan diplomats in Washington could not get to see Roosevelt. The Polish Ambassador did not succeed in arranging an audience for the new Polish premier Stanisław Mikołajczyk until June. When Mikolajczyk arrived for his visit with Roosevelt, everywhere he was cautioned about Roosevelt's "political year." Secretary of State Edward Stettinius told Mikolajczyk that the President could not adopt a more decisive attitude with Stalin "in view of the elections." [11] In New York State, Roosevelt won its 47 electoral votes by a majority of 317,000. But he got 825,000 votes from the American Labor Party dominated by the Communists, which had also nominated him, and the American Liberal Party.